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Harris County sheriff's detectives have launched a manhunt for a serial rapist who since September 2011 has attacked seven women he met through online escort services.

The most recent assaults took place this month in northwest Harris County, detectives said.

Three attacks have been linked to one suspect. Detectives are awaiting results of DNA samples obtained in the other sexual assaults.

Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that other attackers could be involved, but so far no evidence has pointed to it. Detectives released three composite sketches, based on descriptions provided by victims.

"Everything points to it being the same actor (suspect)," Lt. Ruben Diaz, of the Harris County Sheriff's Special Victims Unit, said.

"He goes online to find these dating escort services, and asks for dates," Diaz said. "The girls come to the location where he's supposedly going to pick them up, and they get dragged into an empty apartment where they are beaten and sexually assaulted."

Feb. 2, 2013, at The Palms of Cypress Station Apartments, 990 Cypress Station.

In at least one of the assaults, the suspect may have had a female accomplice, detectives said.

Investigators only recently determined that a possible serial rapist was at work.

Christina Garza, spokeswoman at the Harris County Sheriff's Office, said the first three cases were spread out, time-wise. She said officers routinely respond to assault calls at the Oaks of Cypress Station and Autumn Lakes apartments, so there initially was no pattern to the assaults.

"Then in January, it seems like this person went from having some inactivity to suddenly doing several (assaults) within just weeks of each other," Garza said.

The pieces began to fall into place, Garza said, when the DNA results came in a few weeks ago, coupled with the close proximity of the apartments and the similar statements provided by the victims.

Anyone with information about the case is urged to call the Sheriff's Office at 713-967-5810 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.